Nury Martinez said she will be taking a leave of absence from her role as president of the L.A. City Council, two days after a leaked recording of her making racist remarks went viral. Martinez’s comments, made during an October 2021 city council meeting about redistricting, accused City Councilman Mike Bonin of treating his son like an “accessory” and comparing the child to a monkey. She also called the “little short dark people” in Koreatown ugly, and said of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, “Fuck that guy … He’s with the Blacks.” Martinez was elected to the city council in 2013 and has served as president since 2019. She is facing calls for her resignation from California Sen. Alex Padilla and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as both L.A. mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso. Even the White House weighed in Tuesday, calling on Martinez—and other council members involved in the conversations— to step down. “Here’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans: When a Democrat says something racist or antisemitic ... we hold Democrats accountable,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
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